The main purpose of this analysis was to discuss a possible strategy for
sustainable use of agricultural mechanization in the Alentejo region, considering
its social, business and cultural practices, as well as some limiting constraints.
Considering several case studies in recent years, the combination of the concepts
of conservation agriculture and precision agriculture may suggest a strategy for
sustainable smart farming. Alentejo has certain strengths that support the growth
of the agricultural sector: there are institutes and university departments that
work at the forefront of this field, carrying out research that is vital to agriculture
and related technologies, as well as innovative and dynamic farmers and a farm
machinery market with innovative solutions compatible with sustainable concepts
and precision farming technologies. Nevertheless, it is important to have a
regulatory framework that better supports innovation and provides for increased
investment in R&D, allowing faster and more widespread adoption of best
practices and innovation across farming systems and farmers.

This paper examines how financial
expansion and contraction cycles affect the broader economy
through their impact on eight real economic sectors in a
panel of 28 countries over 1960-2005, paying particular
attention to large, or sharp, contractions and magnifying
and mitigating factors. Overall, the construction sector is
the most responsive to financial sector growth, with a
number of others -- such as government, public utilities,
and transportation -- also exhibiting significant
sensitivity to lagged financial sector growth. Sharp
fluctuations in the financial sector have asymmetric
effects, with the majority of real sectors adversely
affected by contractions but not helped by expansions. The
adverse effects of financial contractions are transmitted
almost exclusively by the financial openness channel with
foreign reserves mitigating these effects with a sizeable
(10 to 15 times greater) impact during sharp financial
contractions. Both effects are magnified during particularly
large financial contractions (with coefficients on
interaction terms two to three times greater than when all
contractions are considered). Consequent upon a financial
contraction...

This article draws on the donor experience in agriculture-sector reforms to analyse the contribution of Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) to improved rural policy. A decision-theoretic framework is presented showing that effective PSIAs should target reforms where institutional distortions and uncertainty about key policy parameters are greatest. The framework is applied to nine cases of World Bank-sponsored PSIAs, and results show that, while they have generally been effective, their impacts can be improved by identifying key uncertainties a priori, better identifying and engaging stakeholders, and improving the integration of quantitative and qualitative components.

The Andean region of Puno, known as the
altiplano, is located at 3,830 meters above sea level. The
terrain is prone to flooding, and thus difficult to
cultivate. In order to deal with this situation, Andean
indigenous populations displaced huge amounts of soil in
order to create raised fields that were better adapted to
agricultural use. Raised fields resolved many of the
problems that affect agriculture at high altitude. The
technology combines the rehabilitation of marginal soils,
drainage improvement, increased water storage, more
efficient use of radiant energy, and attenuation of the
effects of frosts. The raised platform allows farmers to
double the depth of topsoil for crops, and provides dry
surfaces in the wet and often flooded lake and river terrain.

Meat plays an important role in the
diets of the majority of Mongolians. Since the economic and
political transition in the early 1990s, seasonal meat price
fluctuations have become increasingly marked. In parallel,
Mongolia is becoming increasingly urbanized, and urban
consumers are dependent upon markets to access food,
including meat, for household food security. These two
trends have meant that a rising number of urban residents
are vulnerable to fluctuations of price in one of their main
staples. Government has responded to this by trying to
influence the price of meat through a price stabilization
policy under which public funds support the purchase and
storage of meat and the release of these reserves during
periods of peak prices. While some public intervention to
smooth prices is a legitimate area for policy engagement,
this policy note concludes that there is no evidence that
the current policy has an impact on prices, and worse still,
it may even discourage private meat storage. This is set in
a context of relatively low budget allocation (by
international standards) to the agricultural sector. What is
required is a more comprehensive approach for developing the
meat market and the livestock sector more broadly...

Drought is an extended period of time with rainfall deficits. It is a natural hazard having environmental-, social and economical impacts. An index can be used to define the onset of drought and to simplify the wide range of impacts. By applying such an index, the severity of a current drought event can be quantified and compared to past conditions. In combination with climate projections, future droughts can furthermore be addressed. A drought index also facilitates the communication between scientist, decision makers and the public. In the present study, a drought index was applied and the duration
as well as the frequency of droughts during a future time period (2031-2060)
was compared to a current reference period (1961-1990). To furthermore
address the impact of droughts on the agricultural sector, the Irrigation Water
Demand (IWD) during drought was simulated with the hydrological model TRAIN. Results show that future droughts are projected to become longer and more severe and that the irrigation water demand is expected to rise under future drought conditions.

This paper examines the idea, sometimes expressed by agri-economic policy researchers, that it is becoming increasingly difficult to analyse and evaluate the agricultural sector policies that are operating or being considered for implementation in the EU. It discusses some of the reasons why this perception may have arisen, and tries to find reasons for it in particular developments and features of the current policy environment. No unambiguous answer is offered for the question posed in the title, but nonetheless the paper concludes on a note of cautious optimism.; JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Economy

As China moves towards membership in the WTO, and therefore it becomes subject to the Agreement of Agriculture, the Chinese economy in general and the agricultural sector in particular would face with significant adjustment.

This paper aims to assess the social economic and environmental impacts of China's potential trade liberalisation in agriculture especially in view of China's expected imminent entry into the WTO. This study will analyse the impact of China's accession to the WTO on agriculture, through economic modelling, scenario analysis and integrated assessment, to find the social economic and environmental impacts of large agricultural imports.; no

[Introduction]: This paper begins with a summary of concessions made by Chinese negotiators and their implications for trade and domestic policy changes, it then attempts to predict the impact of China's WTO entry on its agricultural sector. Finally, it suggests possible development strategies and policy reforms.; yes

As Mongolia has begun to develop its
abundant mineral resources over the past decade, the share
of mining in gross domestic product (GDP) has more than
tripled to around 20 percent currently. The sector has also
contributed up to a third of total government receipts in
recent years and more than 80 percent of exports in 2010.
Evidence suggests that women tend to miss out on the
potential benefits associated with a booming mining sector.
In addition, large scale mines typically tend to be the
dominant employers in remote locations. The policy note
starts by gauging potential growth and employment effects
associated with the expansion of the mining sector on other
sectors, using a computable general equilibrium model
specially calibrated for the Mongolian economy. It then
considers experience and lessons from other countries that
are trying to integrate and ensure the participation of
women in large-scale mining and the practical policy
recommendations to do so. The key findings are that there is
a high degree of occupational segmentation in the mining
sector...

The overall legal framework in Morocco
is not a priority area for reform. The law-making process,
however, is weak, resulting in poorly drafted laws, and
legal dissemination is inadequate. Legal education relies
upon outdated curricula and is offered in competing
languages, French and Arabic, the selection of which largely
determines students' choices for future employment. The
training of legal professionals is minimal and is poorly
supervised. The general public has little access to legal
information. Legal aid is embryonic and restricted to
criminal matters. This assessment of the legal and judicial
sector offers recommendations in the areas of case law
dissemination, capacity building of the law-making
institutions, development of a legal toolkit for judges,
redesign of legal studies, training of legal professionals
to improve quality, supervision of translators and experts,
redirecting the activities of lawyers towards legal advice,
expanding the notaries, redesigning court operations,
expanding judicial participation on the High Council for the
Judiciary and ensuring greater judicial independence...

From society's point of view, the question is whether investment in Agricultural research should be considered as a priority for the public sector. In other words, should a major objective be to. increase total funds allocated to agricultural research? This issue has been given inadequate treatment in the literature as upposed to establishing priorities for allocating available funds which has received considerable coverage in economic Iiterature.; 1984

In 2008, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reached its fiftieth birthday. It has been a constant factor in directing resources to the EU agricultural sector, but the means of channelling these resources have changed considerably over time. This article

[EN] This paper aims to contribute further research on the conceptualization of agricultural multifunctionality through
quantitative methods. The empirical analysis is based on a large dataset (Agrobarometre of Andalusia) consisting of
self-reported measures of individual opinions on multifunctionality. Ordered probit models are proposed to analyze
the extent to which individuals’ perceptions of multifunctionality can be explained not only by individual and regional
characteristics, but more importantly, by the preferences individuals have for a given type of agriculture. Results
indicate that individuals are aware of the multi-dimensional nature of agriculture as a provider of private and public
goods and services, although a big fraction of the population still focuses its demand on private goods production. It
is not surprising that individuals’ perceptions about the multifunctionality concept are site-specific, depending on the
surrounding farming systems. Given their stated preference for a type of agricultural multifunctionality, the proposed
quantitative method highlights those attributes of the concept which do not fully satisfy individuals’ expectations.
Overall, this manuscript provides a useful empirical tool for policy-makers concerned with improving satisfaction on
the perception of multifunctionality in the agricultural sector.; [ES] El objetivo del presente trabajo es contribuir a la investigación sobre el concepto de multifuncionalidad de la agricultura...

[EN] This paper aims to contribute further research on the conceptualization of agricultural multifunctionality through
quantitative methods. The empirical analysis is based on a large dataset (Agrobarometre of Andalusia) consisting of
self-reported measures of individual opinions on multifunctionality. Ordered probit models are proposed to analyze
the extent to which individuals’ perceptions of multifunctionality can be explained not only by individual and regional
characteristics, but more importantly, by the preferences individuals have for a given type of agriculture. Results
indicate that individuals are aware of the multi-dimensional nature of agriculture as a provider of private and public
goods and services, although a big fraction of the population still focuses its demand on private goods production. It
is not surprising that individuals’ perceptions about the multifunctionality concept are site-specific, depending on the
surrounding farming systems. Given their stated preference for a type of agricultural multifunctionality, the proposed
quantitative method highlights those attributes of the concept which do not fully satisfy individuals’ expectations.
Overall, this manuscript provides a useful empirical tool for policy-makers concerned with improving satisfaction on
the perception of multifunctionality in the agricultural sector.; [ES] El objetivo del presente trabajo es contribuir a la investigación sobre el concepto de multifuncionalidad de la agricultura...

From 1948 to 1994, the agricultural sector was afforded special treatment in the GATT. We analyse the extent to which this agricultural exceptionalism was curbed as a result of the GATT Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, discuss why it was curbed and finally explore the implication of this for EU policy making. We argue that, in particular, two major changes in GATT institutions brought about restrictions on agricultural exceptionalism. First, the Uruguay Round was a 'single undertaking' in which progress on other dossiers was contingent upon an outcome on agriculture. The EU had keenly supported this new decision rule in the GATT. Within the EU this led to the MacSharry reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 1992, paving the way for a trade agreement on agriculture within the GATT. Second, under the new quasi-judicial dispute settlement procedure, countries are expected to bring their policies into conformity with WTO rules or face retaliatory trade sanctions. This has brought about a greater willingness on the part of the EU to submit its farm policy to WTO disciplines.

The paper describes the adaptation of the Service Quality Instrument (SERVQUAL) for measuring the provision of information as an Extension Service. It explores agricultural Extension Services as a customer service and SERVQUAL as a service evaluation tool. The study aims to provide an adapted SERVQUAL instrument which includes a dimension for the measurement of the provision of information as a service. The reliability of the adapted instrument is tested by examining the results of a practical implementation thereof. The reliability of the adapted instrument is confirmed by using quantitative analysis of empirical data. Data used in the analysis was collected by means of a case study involving an agricultural organisation in the South African grain sector. This paper serves as the impetus for a discussion on the evaluation of the provision of Information as a Service, as provided by an agricultural organisation using Extension Services.